


His Eyes Were Empty

by angelofgrief



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Manipulation, M/M, Power Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-22
Updated: 2013-07-22
Packaged: 2017-12-21 00:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/893788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofgrief/pseuds/angelofgrief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because of his ability of pure empathy, Will knows emotions. Hannibal does as well. The question is, who won the game?</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Eyes Were Empty

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to play with emotions, this is my only excuse for writing such a horrid fic. I am so sorry.

Will Graham is a man that displays emotions that are similar to one another. Fear, nervousness, confidence at some points, and others. He is a professional at certain moments under certain pressures but can crack a few jokes or small smirks at times. He doesn't seem happy and even if he is, it is usually in the security and comfort of his little house with his many dogs. Even then, the comfort is man-made and he uses his every strength to squeeze it out.

And Hannibal? Hannibal craves for those moments. It is one of the many reasons why he pushed Will. A man capable of pure empathy? Imagine the emotions he would feel: are they his or is he using the surroundings to create the perfect mask?

He often tells himself that he is Will Graham's friend. Friends push each other to be better. Is he not helping Will by pushing him like this? Maybe, maybe not, but technicality never bothered him on this subject... Especially since Will's in jail.

It's a funny thing to be in jail. It is called a hospital but they both know what it truly is. There was no trial for Will: he was deemed criminally insane so they sent him off to the Baltimore State Hospital. It's a funny thing really, since they both know that Will isn't insane. But evidence is proving otherwise.

xXx

Hannibal, feeling responsible, takes it upon himself to visit Will one more time. Perhaps out of arrogance, perhaps out of concern, or perhaps out of friendship. Is it friendship? He sees Will in a green suit with a face of anger and hatred. These emotions are similar to one another and Hannibal lets a small smirk before it disappears.

“I am sorry that I have failed you,”

He thinks that Will thinks that it's a lie. It might be but even he doesn't know. Just trying to make conversation. Will doesn't respond other than the slight twitch of his right hand and an obvious glare. Hannibal leaves after that— he thinks one more visit should be enough to satisfy his hunger for Will.

He keeps coming back and he doesn't know why. He wasn't even his official psychiatrist yet he keeps coming back. Hannibal thinks its because of the limited but intense emotions he shows on his face whenever they meet. He doesn't think it's because of the insatiable need to grab his arms and take complete control over him.

The next time he visits Will (the eighth time in the course of a week), Will is sitting on his bed with his body facing the opposite wall but his head turned, facing up towards the window. Judging by body position, he looks as relax as Will Graham can be. His hair is covering his face, which proves difficult to see what emotion is on his face.

“Will?” No answer.

“Will?” He doesn't turn around.

“Can you hear me, Will?” His head drops down to normal eye-level. He's still not looking.

But when he does, Hannibal finds himself unstable. Will turns to face him and there is nothing on his face. These is no glare, no visible frown or twitch, nothing that conveys emotion. He looks at Hannibal as if he was the dust in the sunlight. He is focused on him, that much he knows, but there isn't any emotion. Will isn't staring as if he was bored neither. He is just... staring. Hannibal is confused, for the first time, and it takes him a while to regain his composure. He starts asking Will questions about his day, anything interesting, even tries to psychoanalyze him but there is no response. Will only stares back and if Hannibal wasn't so preoccupied with the emotionless approach, it would seem that he was only looking at him to acknowledge that he knew that he was there.

Hannibal quickly left.

Will Graham as emotionless is a... new thing. Something certainly Hannibal was no prepared for. Or rather, he never saw it coming. Emotions are a gift from our animal ancestors. They are human in the sense that no human should ever not show emotion. Will Graham with no emotion, Will Graham only politely paying attention to acknowledge the other that he knows he is there... well.

The next time Hannibal visits, he is prepared for this new, emotionless Will.

Well... so he says. The next time he visits, it's the same as the first time he encountered this empty Will. And the next time and the next time and the next time. He's talked to the couple of psychiatrists that talk to Will and they say the same thing: nothing. Even during group sessions, he won't focus on the person unless he is the only one in the room. Whenever he eats, it is slow and deliberate, in silence.

Hannibal is confused. It's been a while since he's been perplexed. Especially regarding to Will; he may not know it but Will Graham is a slightly easy to predict. However, this wasn't something that he predicted.

When he comes to visit again after three months, there is a person talking to him from his cage. A psychiatrist by the name of James Malfar was talking to him; he was one of the persons assigned to Will. As usual, there was no response from behind the bars. In fact, he wasn't even looking at the man. Hannibal stood against the wall behind James and watched the interaction. He was asking him a series of random questions that ranged from personality questions (“What's your favorite color? Mine's green— always loved green,”) to common starter questions (“Did you have a good lunch, Will? Do anything interesting lately?”).

When it was obvious that Will wasn't going to respond at all, Mr. Malfar turned around and walked to where Hannibal was. He asked him of Will's behavior before everything and he replied as best as he could. He was distracted but, no need for the psychiatrist to know that. In fact, he was too busy looking at Will from behind his head. A security guard came in and took Mr. Malfar to the entrance: apparently there was someone there for him.

He stares into the cell for a few minutes and readily decides to leave. No use in making conversation with someone who won't even acknowledge their presence. Hannibal starts to walk away when he sees something move in the corner of his eye. He turns to face it and there's Will, facing towards him.

Hannibal blinks.

Will's face is not the face of an emotionless man. He has a smirk plastered on his face with eyes that go beyond what his face exposes. These are similar to the eyes that Hannibal first saw Will in his cage. These eyes were confident, stable, strong, and pure satsifaction.

_He's won the game._


End file.
